Jacob Weyer from the Pioneer Press is interested in writing an article on geocaching for the Pioneer Press and has been in contact with me--he sounds interested in coming to the Breakfast Buddies event on Saturday and then tagging along with anyone who is going out cache hunting afterwards._________________There comes a time in every young boy's life when he gets an irresistible urge to seek buried treasure.--Mark Twain

Oh shoot. I just saw this. We went caching after the BB, but didn't realize we had a chance to slant the story (cooperative sport controlled by evil monopolist wearing Bill Gates underwear). Who did he end up tagging along with?

Oh shoot. I just saw this. We went caching after the BB, but didn't realize we had a chance to slant the story (cooperative sport controlled by evil monopolist wearing Bill Gates underwear). Who did he end up tagging along with?

I ran into KCOGRN at Center of Nature II around 2-ish, and he said he tagged along with the reporter for a couple of caches--good thing the reporter didn't tag along with me--my first cache after breakfast was a skunk, then I hit a few micros near Lyndale, Lake and Hennepin that weren't exactly getting out to neat and unique local parks--don't get me wrong, they were interesting hides--but they weren't what the majority of geocaches are._________________There comes a time in every young boy's life when he gets an irresistible urge to seek buried treasure.--Mark Twain

Any idea when that will be in the Press? Sounds like a fun outing with
the media. I had heard that the Pioneer Press was going to duplicate the
Duluth Trib article - I'm glad they did their own so I have more stuff to read. I just don't want to miss it..

For some people, there is nothing sweeter than finding an ice-cream pail or a pill bottle in the woods.

A rainy, cold morning is called a good day for this kind of activity.

"Actually, this is nice geocaching weather," said Brad Janzen, 55, of Minnetonka after finding a tiny metal container in a signpost near the Minnesota River Valley on a recent gloomy Saturday.

Janzen was thrilled with the find.

"I got out, looked down in the thing and … I'd say the mojo was running," Janzen said.

Geocaching is the sport of hiding real or virtual objects, called caches, to find with Global Positioning Systems. Geocachers post the coordinates of caches online at www.geocaching.com.

The name geocaching comes from "geo" for geography and "caching," a term that refers to hiding provisions. A relatively new activity, geocaching has grown in worldwide popularity during the past few years.

Caches usually consist of ammunition cans or plastic containers with small toys or trinkets in them. They also contain logbooks so geocachers can sign their names (or their handles) and write a message about the cache. Virtual caches are coordinates that take geocachers to interesting or scenic places.

Some caches contain "travel bugs," items the owner intends to send out traveling. Geocachers can purchase travel bug dog tags with tracking numbers on them (check out www.geocaching.com) and attach them to an item of their choice. The item is then hidden with instructions where it should "travel."

Geocachers who find travel bugs move them from cache to cache until they reach their destination, tracking the bug's location online along the way.

But the journey doesn't always go as planned. Geocachers Larry and Linda Butcher, of Richfield, dropped a travel bug off in Hawaii last July, expecting it to eventually travel to their home. The bug is now in Japan.

Janzen is a member of the Minnesota Geocaching Association, which has more than 200 members. He said he stumbled across geocaching while searching the Internet, and his family bought him a GPS for Father's Day last year. He's been missing from home ever since.

"I've got an understanding wife," he said.

Janzen said one of the things he likes best about geocaching is it takes him to places he otherwise never would have seen.

"It's the adventure of the find and exploring the unknown," he said.

He said geocaching can come in handy during vacations because it can lead people to places that aren't on tourist brochures. Geocaching can also be a social event, Janzen said.

Bernier said he used to hunt deer, but he's more into hunting caches now. "It's nice and clean, and you don't have to kill anything," he said.

Though most geocachers enjoy the activity because they're interested in technology and love nature, there is concern the increased popularity of the sport will actually cause harm to the wilderness.

Ron Hains, operations manager for Minnesota State Parks, said geocaching is not allowed in state parks because of rules prohibiting people from keeping objects in parks overnight, concerns about increased traffic in sensitive areas and issues of liability if someone were to be hurt while geocaching.

Hains said a committee was formed about a year ago to explore ways to allow the activity in parks, and he said geocaching — with some rules — will likely be allowed soon.

"I think it's an exciting recreation that gets people in the outdoors," Hains said. "It's all positive stuff, as long as it's done responsibly."

Geocaching is not limited to the woods. Geocachers often hide caches in cities and suburbs. Minneapolis and St. Paul police report the new sport may have upped urban warnings.

Sgt. Larry Rogers, head of the St. Paul Police bomb squad, said there have been a couple of instances during the past 10 years in which suspicious objects were reported, and they turned out to be game pieces for treasure hunters. He said he is not sure if the pieces were caches, but they could have been.

Rogers said caches should be clearly identifiable so they aren't suspicious to non-geocachers who might find them. He said if caches are placed on private property, the owners should be notified; geocachers should avoid placing caches near businesses or potentially controversial sites.

"You wouldn't want to place them on the steps of Planned Parenthood or in front of political offices," he said.

Geocachers say they are careful when hiding their treasures. Geocacher Dave Dunn, 47, of Lakeville, said increased public awareness of the activity will help.

"Someone who doesn't know what we're doing and sees an ammo can in a public place might overreact this day and age," Dunn said.

Dunn began geocaching as a way to get his two boys interested in hiking and the outdoors. "I offered to take them treasure hunting one day," he said.

Dylan Richardson, 11, of Wayzata, geocaches with his dad, Rick, 46. Rick is notorious among in the Minnesota Geocachers Association for being the first to find more caches than anyone else.

"He loves to get the first-to-finds," Dylan said.

Dylan said he has hidden 22 caches in the past couple of years, and he enjoys the challenge of finding caches.

"I like looking for caches that are hard and no one has found yet," he said. "I'm just like my dad."

You will have to register to read the article on their site and because I don't agree with forced registration for the sole purpose of privacy invasion I have copy/pasted the article above._________________Sad state of affairs.

Also in today's Pioneer Press is another article on geocaching in the "Parade" insert. For those of you who didn't run to the store in your jammies this morning to see your name in the paper, you can read the Parade article here:

Seems like the gecaching bug is hitting more and more people.
I'm doing some caching inservice today at work to a 100 or so
kids. Integrating the ole social and science curriculums. First
things first we'll start by analyzing the trib articles. It amazes me
how many caches many of you have found & hid.